Trash-hauling Bids Received By Lehighton Service Would Cost $150,000 Per Year

November 12, 1985|by ERVIN L. HAWK, The Morning Call

Lehighton Borough Council learned last night that if it decides to hire an outside company to haul away the borough's garbage, it is going to have to budget about $150,000 a year for the service, which does not include the cost of collecting the garbage.

Council opened bids from three prospective companies to provide the hauling service, and the unofficial low bidder was Grand Central Sanitation of Pen Argyl.

The Northampton County company submitted a bid of $295,400 for a two-year contract, and $464,200 for a three-year contract.

Other bidders were Hoch Sanitation Co., 315 Basin St., Allentown, $339,864 for a two-year contract, and $514,206 for a three-year contract, and Lehigh Valley Division of BFI, 444 Lehigh St., Allentown, $552,513 for a two-year contract, and $850,612 for a three-year contract.

Council decided to table the awarding of a contract until the bids can be studied further, with the possibility of awarding a contract at the next meeting at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9.

The low bid was pretty much in line with what Borough Manager Mortimer L. Smedley told council at last month's meeting on what it could expect it will cost to have the garbage hauled away. He told council that from a telephone survey, the cheapest rate he received for the service was $96,720 a year.

Council decided to advertise for bids to have the garbage removed at last month's meeting after Smedley reported on a meeting he attended on Sept. 30 in the Carbon County Courthouse at Jim Thorpe.

At that meeting, David Lamereaux of Wilkes-Barre, regional solid waste manager for the state Department of Environmental Resources, announced that the five remaining landfills in the county - Lehighton, Lansford, Jim Thorpe, Bowmanstown and Nesquehoning - would be closed sometime after Dec. 1.

Lamereaux told the representatives of the county's 23 municipalities that the five dumps being operated in the county have reached a point where DER can no longer tolerate the way they were being operated because they are not in compliance with department regulations. He said the county is the "last stronghold" of illegal dumping sites in the state.

Lehighton purchased 10 acres of land in Franklin Township in 1940 for a landfill. In addition to Lehighton, Franklin Township, Weissport and Mahoning Township use the Lehighton landfill.

Rather than wait until DER closes its landfill, council, on the recommendation of its borough manager, decided to advertise for bids to have an outside firm dispose of the borough's garbage.

According to Smedley, the borough sanitation department makes 12 trips, at 20 cubic yards a trip, to the borough landfill each week.

In other business, council decided not to open the one bid it received for a pickup truck for the work force, with the hopes additional bids will be received since there was no mail delivery yesterday.

Wayne Hunsicker of the Lehighton United Veterans Organization presented Smedley with a plaque for his cooperation and assistance over the weekend when the UVO dedicat- ed a monument designating the name of the Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard and sponsored the annual Carbon County Veteran's Day Parade.

Hunsicker said, "Without your help, we could not have accomplished our goals. We really appreciate your efforts. Thank you very, very much."

Smedley replied, "I must share this plaque with the members of council, mayor and especially the borough work force. They did a magnificent job."

The borough manager was granted permission to send a letter to the Bureau of Traffic Safety of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation requesting information relative to any funding that might be available from the state in order to bring a traffic signal at the intersection of S. 1st and Iron streets up to PennDOT regulations.

At a meeting last month with PennDOT officials, the borough was told the traffic signal had to be upgraded, at a cost of $30,000 to $40,000, or be removed, even though Smedley argued that the light wasnecessary, and to remove it would create a serious safety hazard.

Fire Chief Edward J. Conarty Jr. reported that the fire department cleaned 376 chimneys this fall and that no additional requests for the service will be accepted. However, all requests for cleaning prior to the deadline will be honored.

Council President Heinz Rausch commended the volunteer firemen for their work. He added, "I hope their efforts will keep the firemen home when the wind and snow blows this winter."

Mayor Clinton Williams announced that anyone apprehended removing or destroying the red plastic bags that were placed on the parking meters in the downtown business district will be prosecuted. The borough, in cooperation with the Lehighton Area Chamber of Commerce, is allowing free parking in the metered area during November and December on a trial basis. If the project proves successful, council may consider removing the meters.

Councilman Barry Bossard, chairman of the law and safety committee, reported that a 1966 model pumper used by Engine Co. No. 2 needs to be replaced, and that he will meet with fire department officials to learn what type of fire equipment they would suggest be purchased to replace the 19-year- old pumper. He said it will also be determined what the new equipment will cost and whether it could be included in next year's budget.